Product Description

User Reviews

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by
Guy Crawford
a Audio Enthusiast

Date Reviewed: February 16, 2015

Bottom Line:

Bought the HGS 12 over 10 years ago. It worked well for 4-5 years then started up with some loud buzzing sound! Called Velodyne, they were already familiar with the issue! They explained I just need to send the amp portion (1/2 a pound maybe) of the sub back to them and they would exchange it for a new one plus I pay $250! Somehow me sending the broken amp portion of my sub back to them was supposed to make the cost of a new one way less expensive! Kind of confusing......I agree! Was a little bummed considering my sub basically broke just 5 years after purchasing it for $1,000! Anyway, went ahead and agreed to the exchange. Sent them (Velodyne) my broken amp part. A week later I received the new amp part. Install was a snap, basically 4-6 screws! Hooked it back up, worked like new! Still works great to this day! It is a great sub! It blends nicely with all the surround speakers in my den! I hope I didn't just jinx myself? I read on here another fellow had same problem and his crapped out a second time! Not good to hear! All in all this sub has been well worth it considering I've had it 14 years now! Probably won't pay to have it fixed again should it or when it breaks! Today, a person can most likely get a sub of this quality for way less than what was being charged back in 1999 when this sub was introduced. Overall, its been fun having this puppy(HGS 12)! Hope I get 5 more years out of it!!!

(SIDE NOTE: pretty sure HGS 12 was introduced in 1999. However I did not purchase mine till 2001. It had already been discontinued when I bought mine as a floor-model)

Bought in 1999 for new Home Theater System @ $1500. A few years of working very well but then in approx 2005 got bad buzzing and had to send back for new amp ($275) repair. Got back played it a few times over course of couple years then crapped out with buzzing again but now they want $375 for repair of same thing again. I stated that they had repair it once before for saame reason and asked for lower price to fix and was refused. So questioning if paying 1800 if it's time to throw away and buy a new system from someone other manf given what you can buy nowadays for $500. It's largely sitting in my a back room as a paperweight for the past 5 years. I know it's nearly 16 years later but thinking if same problem twice, the manf should be standing behind product even if giving me a trade in benefit of some value not charging me more for what appears as a engineering issue that I've seen from many others similar issues. Loved it when it worked but do I throw more money at it to fix?

Nice looking sub. You can tell that it is maid with good parts you would expect from a thing that costs $2k. It is my first home sub really so it is hard for me to compare with anything else except the 18" Treo SSX subwoofer in my car. this Velodyne seems to go as deep as 18" I have except it is more precise and more musical so to say.

I bought the floor model of the HGS-12 (my hi-fi salesman turned the HGS-12 on for scarcely 45 seconds by the time I got out my checkbook) back when I had Thiel .5's (www.thielaudio.com), the smallest in Thiel's full range line, and it blended seamlessly. Since then, I've moved up two models, having 1.5's for a few weeks before purchasing brand new 2.3's, upgrading my amp from the Musical Fidelity A300 to the A308, and I still have to keep the HGS-12 x-over set to 40Hz and the volume at 11 o'clock. With Perfect Sound spikes added, my entire floor (if not my entire room) BECOMES the sub, and I mean it when I say it, there is no better sub on the planet. The servo system gives the 3,000W amp more control of the driver than Streisand has over her career, and tighter, cleaner, more MUSICAL bass and sub-bass cannot be had at any price. It's easily the best $1000+tax I've ever spent on anything, ever ever! (I most definitely would've given up the next $1000 if I hadn't been able to get the floor model, no question.) But don't take my word for it, go hear one yourself.

very sharp, small enclosure with the amp on the inside of the box. has all the necessary features but the optional remote cost $60. hooked up to yamaha rxv3000 with klipsch synergy speakers. this sub was to replace the va1512. after comparing the 2, i have come up with a few comments. the servo technology works... it is cleaner, tighter and more enjoyable to listen to. however, overall output without monitoring distortion still leaves the two subs on the same field(118db's). the hgs sub wont break any sound barriers, but it will sound better. one last point on this, with the klipsch pushed to 90% of max, the hgs sub would monitor its output. the va1512 would just distort trying to keep up. i like this new sub for movies and music, it performs very well. i will need to purchase a second to get the output i want(125db's), or purchase bigger subs.